Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan

This is a chest CT tuned deliberately low on radiation, used to look for early lung cancer in people at high risk who have no symptoms. No contrast injection is given, the scan takes seconds, and most of what it finds turns out to be harmless.

This explanation has not been reviewed by a person yet.

What it is

A low-dose CT of the chest is a standard CT scanner run at reduced settings — RadiologyInfo describes the dose as a small fraction of a conventional chest CT — which is enough to see small nodules in air-filled lung without delivering the exposure a diagnostic chest CT would. That trade is what makes it usable as a screening test on people who feel entirely well. No contrast is injected, which is part of the code: this is the plain version, and a chest CT done with contrast for a known problem is a different study at a different price. The scan produces a stack of thin slices through the lungs, which a radiologist reviews for nodules and compares against any prior scans.

Why it is done

To find lung cancer at a stage where it is still small and localized, in people at high risk because of their smoking history and age
Because symptoms of lung cancer usually appear late, and a chest x-ray is not sensitive enough to find small nodules reliably
To establish a baseline set of images, so that a nodule seen later can be judged as new, stable, or growing

What to expect

There is no fasting, no IV, and no injection. You lie on your back on the table with your arms raised over your head; straps or pillows may be used to keep you positioned. The table moves through the ring of the scanner while you hold your breath for a few seconds at a time. The scanning itself is over quickly; the appointment is mostly registration and positioning. Nodules are a common finding and the large majority are not cancer — the usual response to a small one is another low-dose scan some months later to see whether it has changed, rather than immediate biopsy. If something looks suspicious, a contrast-enhanced CT or a biopsy may follow, and those are separate procedures with separate costs.

Questions worth asking

Is a separate counseling or shared decision-making visit required before the scan, and is that visit billed on its own?
Is the facility enrolled in the registry and accreditation requirements some payers attach to screening coverage? A scan done outside them can be denied.
Am I being billed the screening code or a diagnostic chest CT code? The two are covered differently by most plans.
If a nodule is found, what is the price of the follow-up scan, and will it be processed as diagnostic rather than preventive?

What Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan costs by state

Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Texas — 114 hospitals, median $231.00
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in California — 87 hospitals, median $312.00
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Ohio — 68 hospitals, median $253.80
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Florida — 64 hospitals, median $905.45
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Illinois — 50 hospitals, median $248.40
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Virginia — 42 hospitals, median $418.50
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Tennessee — 38 hospitals, median $253.80
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Wisconsin — 33 hospitals, median $445.00
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Washington — 31 hospitals, median $222.36
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Pennsylvania — 29 hospitals, median $266.00
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Iowa — 28 hospitals, median $359.90
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Indiana — 26 hospitals, median $542.40
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Kentucky — 26 hospitals, median $868.21
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Michigan — 26 hospitals, median $273.00
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Georgia — 25 hospitals, median $331.50
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in New York — 22 hospitals, median $125.84
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in New Jersey — 21 hospitals, median $352.22
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Minnesota — 19 hospitals, median $794.70
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Arizona — 18 hospitals, median $90.13
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Missouri — 18 hospitals, median $771.65
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in West Virginia — 16 hospitals, median $120.00
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Colorado — 15 hospitals, median $610.00
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in North Carolina — 15 hospitals, median $567.08
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Oklahoma — 14 hospitals, median $710.60
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Nebraska — 13 hospitals, median $182.75
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Oregon — 13 hospitals, median $271.50
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Kansas — 11 hospitals, median $534.00
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Mississippi — 11 hospitals, median $55.50
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in South Carolina — 11 hospitals, median $52.50
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Arkansas — 10 hospitals, median $241.15
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Maine — 7 hospitals, median $382.45
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in South Dakota — 6 hospitals, median $1,708.00
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Alaska — 4 hospitals, median $221.52
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Nevada — 4 hospitals, median $79.95
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in North Dakota — 4 hospitals, median $500.00
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Wyoming — 3 hospitals, median $361.79
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Hawaii — 2 hospitals, median $456.00
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Louisiana — 2 hospitals, median $67.60
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Maryland — 2 hospitals, median $107.40
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in Montana — 2 hospitals, median $293.60
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in New Mexico — 2 hospitals, median not published by hospital
Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost in New Hampshire — 1 hospitals, median $2,107.70

Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan prices at hospitals

See every published price for Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan: the full national range, the state and hospital breakdowns, and which hospitals charge the least.

Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening CT Scan cost — see all prices →

Sources

RadiologyInfo (RSNA/ACR): Lung Cancer Screening (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)
Wikipedia (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)

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